Progress!

It's been forever since I've blogged (told you I was bad at keeping up with it).  I just wanted to make a short post to talk about James' progress!  He is doing SO wonderfully with the help he gets in the developmental preschool.  He is doing better at communicating verbally and his tantrums (they're more than tantrums--we call them meltdowns), while they still happen frequently, are much easier to calm (most of the time).

James and I had the following conversations (the FIRST conversation we have ever had!) a few weeks ago:

Me:  James, what would you like to eat?
James:  A sandwich.
Me:  A sandwich?  What kind?
James:  A peanut butter sandwich!

I cried.  He has never had a conversation with me before.  In the past he has either just repeated the question or just plain ignored me.  He is getting SO much better verbally.  Even something as simple as answering a question with yes or no instead of repeating the question is a huge deal to us, so you can imagine how ecstatic we were when he answered these questions directly.

The developmental preschool is doing wonderful things for him.  They are not only teaching him and working with him while he is at school, but they also give us ideas and tools to work with him when he's at home, which is an enormous help to us. 

In other James news, he will be starting a special needs t-ball league in a couple weeks!  It is called the Bambino Buddy Baseball League, and the special needs kiddos are the bambinos.  Each bambino has a buddy with him or her to help hit, run the bases, throw the ball in, etc.  The buddy is usually a middle school or high school baseball player.  Bless these players' hearts!  It really humbles me to see older kiddos willing and excited to work with special needs children.  I think this league is going to do great things for James and we will have so much fun as a family doing it!  I can't wait to watch my little man playing t-ball.  Count on more tears.

"He certainly has ASD"...

We have known for some time. James has been showing signs of autism since he was around two and a half. But no one would come out and say the words. It was always "he shows some tendencies" or "he has certain behaviors". But we met with a doctor at Riley Hospital for Children today who said the words "he certainly has Autism Spectrum Disorder". Hearing the words made official what I have known for a year and a half.  What I have known in my gut even after therapists and specialists told me it wasn't true. I knew it, but I have been dreading these words.

What a sweet friend reminded me today was that this does not change the little boy that he is. He is James. He is SO smart. He loves to read and watch his favorite shows. He loves his family and friends. He sings Silent Night and Away in a Manger when it's not Christmas. He "snuggles down" with Mommy and Brother on the couch on a lazy Saturday. He is sweet, loving, and wonderful.

No parent wants to label their child. Especially with a label that comes with such a stigma. But here's what the label means for us:  We can do more. With this official diagnosis we can go further with what we have already been doing for James. It has always been true that we would do anything in our power to help our little boy learn and thrive in this world. And I have no doubt that he will.

Andrew Turns 2!

I completely forgot to post this last week (what kind of mother am I?!).  Andrew turned 2 on February 7! We had a fantastic party on the 8th complete with Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Bug Bird cupcakes! 

Many sweet family and friends came and sure did make this sweet boy feel special!  He is very loved by everyone. Happy (belated) birthday, Andrew Robert!

We LOVE music around here...

We LOVE music. We almost always have some kind of music playing at home. If no music is playing, either Mommy or Daddy is singing. Both of our boys love music, and love singing. They are fascinated by musical instruments.

Music has also become our most effective way to communicate with James. We often sing random things to him.  He responds when commands are in song form. And he's still singing the "brush your teeth" song that Ethan made up the other night.

An Introduction

I've had a couple blogs.  I had one in college that was required for one of my classes and a pregnancy blog during my first pregnancy that I never kept up with (such is the life of a first-time mama).  So, as a new year resolution, I am going to attempt ONE more time to start a blog and stick with it.  It will serve mostly as a means for extended family and friends to keep up with the happenings in the Rayburn home.

I don't really know what snips and snails and puppy dog tails actually means, but that poem stuck out in my head.  If that is, indeed, what little boys are made of, then we have an awful lot of it at our house.

This is us...

Ethan and Danielle.  Met working at Stein Mart in college, became smitten almost immediately.  Happily married since July 8, 2006.

James Marshall.  Born October 7, 2009.  Our first little love.  Sweet, smart, loving.  He loves music, the outdoors, Lightning McQueen, reading books, and his friends and family.  This little man is possibly on the Spectrum (awaiting official diagnosis).

Andrew Robert.  Born February 7, 2012.  He's a world-class snuggler and loves wrestling his daddy and big bro.  He has such a sweet little personality and can be a mama's boy at times.  :) He loves books, puzzles, Mickey Mouse, and Elmo.


I'm excited to let you into our life as a family with BOYS.  I was destined to be a boy mom.  My life is wonderful and at times crazy.  And I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

I so much enjoy reading others' blogs.  I can only hope that our adventures will be just as enjoyable to read about.  Welcome!